(StraightNews.org) – The National Basketball Association has handed a lifetime ban to a Toronto Raptors player for violating betting rules. The NBA opened an investigation into Jontay Porter’s behavior in March after a bookmaker noted “unusual gambling patterns” surrounding a March 20 contest between the Raptors and the Sacramento Kings.
The probe found that Porter had shared confidential information about his health with an unnamed bettor who subsequently placed an $80,000 wager that earned him a $1.1 million win. The winnings were not handed over and the bet was frozen as the NBA inquiry got underway.
During the March 20 competition, Porter played for only three minutes before complaining of illness. The investigation concluded that the Missouri native had limited his own performance to influence the outcome of the bet.
The NBA’s inquiry examined Mr. Porter’s games from January 26, when he played against the LA Clippers, to the March 20 competition that led to his downfall. They found that he played for just four minutes against the Clippers and delivered an uncharacteristic performance by not attempting to score.
The following day, DraftKings Sportsbook noted “the biggest money winner for bettors of any NBA player props from games that evening.”
Furthermore, investigators discovered that Porter had placed his own bets under an associate’s name, winning $21,965. He did not play in the associated games, but the NBA found that he had placed bets against his own team.
Porter is the first NBA player to receive a lifetime ban since Roy Tarpley of the Dallas Mavericks in 1995. Tarpley struggled with alcohol and cocaine addiction from the outset of his career and failed in repeated attempts at sobriety. He flunked a drug test in 1991 but got a second chance after a 3-year ban. In 1994, he rejoined the Mavericks on a $20 million contract but subsequently failed another drug test and was banned for life.
He died at the Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital in 2015 at age 50.
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